Chapter 4: Let Me Go

Sherlock was struggling to play and Molly clearly felt his discomfort,

"Is Everything ok, Sherlock?" she asked gently and the detective sighed and held up an envelope,

"My parents and Mycroft are requesting that I travel with them to see Eurus" he explained with a murmur and Molly looked at him gently,

"You can't ignore her existence, Sherlock. Perhaps there is a reason she came back into your life. Perhaps she is sorry about Red Beard" She told him and Sherlock scoffed humourlessly,

"I sincerely doubt it" he responded,

"Don't you owe it to Red Beard to find out?" she asked carefully and Sherlock sighed,

"What... What if she isn't sorry?" he asked worriedly,

"Then you have a reason not to offer her your forgiveness" she told him and Sherlock gave a half smile,

"You always know what to say" he praised and Molly smiled,

"Duh, you made me, Sherlock" she replied and Sherlock sighed, sitting back in his chair,

"Will you come with me?" he asked and was surprised when Molly shook her head,

"Not this time, Sherlock. Your fear of Eurus brought me here so I think it best that you face her alone" she told him gently and Sherlock closed his eyes knowing Molly was right.

A guard lead Sherlock, Mycroft and his parents to Eurus' cell when Sherlock turned and looked at his family,

"Could I have a moment with her alone?" he asked and watched his parents nod and Mycroft looked at his brother sympathetically,

"Just call us if it becomes too much, brother mine" Mycroft said and Sherlock nodded before entering the cell and the guard closed the door behind him.

Sherlock took a few steps forward and watched as Eurus looked up and she stood quickly at the sight of him; He saw the hope in her eyes,

"Your doctor told me you've developed a loss of speech and I know that's not true. I know you can still talk and if you want me to stay then you will because I need to know something" Sherlock said firmly and watched as his sister frowned before nodding after a moment and she looked at the ground,

"You flourished in making my childhood a living hell. You embedded the very fibres of my life with fear. Fear of you. Did you really hate me that much?" Sherlock demanded with a glare and watched as Eurus looked at him and shook her head,

"Never" she whispered,

"You were my brother, Sherlock. I looked up to you. You... You were my hero... You still are" she told him,

"I... I just felt so lost. I thought... I thought you didn't love me as much as I loved you... I thought I was loosing my brother" she explained sadly,

"So you killed the only friend I had. You killed Red Beard" he growled and Eurus let a tear fall down her cheek,

"I thought you'd find him. I really did... You and Mycroft were so clever at solving puzzles and I thought you'd be able to solve my riddle... When Red Beard died... I knew you'd never forgive me so... I fell into a dark despair and I was so cruel to you" she whispered looking down and Sherlock felt a tear fall down his own cheek as he gritted his teeth,

"You made me fearful of having friends! You swore to make them vanish too!" he yelled and Eurus fell to her knees,

"I know!... I... I just wanted to be your friend... I just wanted my brother back" she whispered and sobbed into her hands and Sherlock took a deep breath,

"Are you sorry?... About Red Beard's death. Are you sorry?" he asked and watched as she looked up at him and nodded,

"You will never know how sorry I am, Sherlock... Can you ever forgive me?" she asked in a whisper and Sherlock held out his hand hesitantly and she took it shakily as he helped her stand,

"Please know that I need time... But after all these years... Knowing that you're sorry. The process of my forgiveness can begin" he told her and she sighed before pressing a kiss to his knuckles,

"Thank you" she whispered over and over and Sherlock nodded before turning and left,

"I'll see you next month" he bid and Eurus nodded silently with a soft smile of hope on her face.

John watched Sherlock sit in his chair with a look of sympathetically,

"You alright, mate?" John asked and Sherlock was silent for a moment before looking towards the fireplace,

"It's time isn't it?" he asked and Molly nodded with a sad smile and held out her hand to him and he took it before standing,

"I'm afraid so, Sherlock. You've grown up... You don't need me any more" she murmured and Sherlock looked down sadly but John's eyes were wide,

"Sherlock?... I... I can see her" John stuttered causing the detective to look at him surprised,

"That's impossible... How can you...?" he tried before looking back at Molly and she smiled,

"Childhood magic" she whispered before hugging him,

"All my love to long ago, Sherlock" she whispered and Sherlock closed his eyes,

"The best of wishes for wherever you end up, Molly" he replied and with that Sherlock's childhood imaginary friend vanished for the last time.

~ 6 Months Later ~

Sherlock and John were at St Bart's Hospital having just examined a body brought in from a crime scene,

"Theories?" John asked,

"Murder" Sherlock replied simply before going on to explain exactly how it happened but John wasn't listening and he smacked the detective's shoulder for attention,

"What?" Sherlock asked and John silently pointed with stunned eyes into one of the labs at a lady leaning over a microscope,

"That's impossible" Sherlock murmured, becoming shocked himself,

"She looks just like..." John began,

"Molly" Sherlock finished and John shoved Sherlock into the lab before he could protest and closed the door behind him causing the lady to look up,

"Errrrrm... Can I help you sir?" she asked and Sherlock struggled,

"I... Yes" he began before holding out his hand,

"Sherlock Holmes" he introduced and the lady accepted his hand,

"Molly Hooper" she greeted and Sherlock smiled,

"Of course you are" he said causing her to look confused,

"I'm sorry?" she pressed and the detective shook his head,

"Nothing it's just... My friend, Doctor Watson was teasing me the other day for having an imaginary friend as a child named Molly. I found the coincidence amusing" he explained and Molly giggled,

"Oh, I see. What can I do for you Mr Holmes?" she asked,

"Sherlock, Please. I find my flat rather small to carry out experiments and I was wondering if I might retrieve consent for the lab's use" he explained and watched as she nodded,

"I'm sure it won't be a problem if we get the hospital's permission" she said with a smile and Sherlock smiled brightly,

"Oh Miss Hooper, I do believe we are going to get along very well" he said certainly.

I hope you all enjoyed 'A Detective's Imagination' Please let me know how I did.

Kind Regards,

TheAuthor1996